Rensselaer’s
Molecularium Project
Teaches Kids What “Matters”
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A new animated program is designed to spark
children’s interest in learning about atoms
and molecules using planetariums in a new
way for science education.
By Peter Dizikes
Schoolchildren love field trips to planetariums, and for good
reason: Through the magic of special effects, they can explore the
distant universe. Now a group of Rensselaer scientists, along with
a New York City-based experience design firm, have developed a
new twist on this enduring institution: The MoleculariumSM project,
a show featuring a novel planetarium-format animated program, the
“Riding Snowflakes” show, that helps schoolchildren explore the
universe as it exists at the atomic scale.
Due to debut this fall, the show “Riding Snowflakes” (one of two
in production), as well as the Molecularium project concept as
a whole, is in good measure the idea of Linda Schadler, Ph.D., a
professor of materials science and engineering at Rensselaer with
a career-long interest in educational outreach programs for primary
and secondary-school students. Looking for new methods of
introducing kids to molecular science, Schadler began pondering
ways to adapt the planetarium concept for her own field about five
years ago, while keeping a central question in mind. “If you can
go to the stars, why can’t you go down to the molecular level?”
Schadler asks.
The Molecularium project is part of the educational and outreach
program of Rensselaer’s National Science Foundation (NSF)funded Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSEC)
for Directed Assembly of Nanostructures. Rensselaer’s NSEC
is directed by Richard Siegel, the Robert W. Hunt Professor of
Materials Science and Engineering at Rensselaer. The Rensselaer
faculty involved credit Siegel and the Institute for supporting the
project since its inception.
Other like-minded Rensselaer faculty members have joined in the
project. Daniel Gall and Pawel Keblinski, assistant and associate
professors, respectively, of materials science and engineering, are
acting as scientific consultants. Shekhar Garde, Ph.D., associate
professor of chemical and biological engineering, oversees the
scientific accuracy of the show. Garde thinks the Molecularium
project is a long-overdue way of bringing excitement to the study
of atoms and molecules – which, after all, are the building blocks of
everything in our world.
“Galaxies, to me, are too far away and I don’t think about them
every day,” says Garde. “I drink water every day. Wouldn’t it be fun
to jump into it at the molecular level and see what it looks like?”
“Molecularium
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Linda Schadler, professor of materials
science and engineering at Rensselaer
and executive producer of the
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Molecularium project.
(Photo by Mark McCarty)
Shekhar Garde, Ph.D., associate
professor of chemical and biological
engineering, oversees the scientific
accuracy of the show.
(Photo by Mark McCarty)
Close-up of a protein molecule (alpha-hemolysin) — a sample piece of artwork used in
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the animation process for the Molecularium
project. ©2004 RPI
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Copyright ©2004 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
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To do that, Schadler, Garde and other colleagues first implemented
the MoleculariumSM project in 2002, with a seven-minute visual
presentation on molecules they liken to “line drawings.” It may
have been a little primitive technically, but, says Schadler, young
students were “learning a tremendous amount” from the show.
Encouraged, the Molecularium project team applied for, and
received this spring, a $660,000 National Science Foundation
supplemental grant to the NSEC to take the project to a new level,
by funding the production of the shows and a projection system for
the planetarium-dome format.
To direct the show, Rensselaer hired Vishwanath Bush of the
New York City-based experience design firm Tektraxadex. The
company recently formed an offshoot production company called
Nanotoons, which is “dedicated to the creation of a nanoscale
cartooniverse,” according to Bush.
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©2004 RPI
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Molecularium project characters “Oxy”,
“Hydro”, and “Hydra” form a water
molecule.
Bush – whose previous credits include “Sonic-Vision,” an animated
musical show for the American Museum of Natural History – is
now completing the “Riding Snowflakes” show along with his cowriter and producer, Kurt Przybilla, and a crew numbering about
25 people, including animators, artists, composers, engineers,
Rensselaer graduate and undergraduate students, and faculty.
A Molecular Journey
So what will students see when they view the “Riding Snowflakes”
show? The show follows a cast of characters, based on atoms,
as they move throughout the universe from the perspective of a
magical ship, also called the Molecularium. The ship can view
Sample animation frame from the “Riding
matter on both the human and molecular levels. At first, a character
Snowflakes” show. ©2004 RPI
representing an oxygen atom (“Oxy”) meets two hydrogen atoms
(“Hydro” and “Hydra”), and teaches them to use the ship. “She’s
taking them on their first lesson on how to fly the ship,” says Bush.
The atoms, who combine to form a water molecule, descend to earth and ride snowflakes, flying around and through
them. As a snowflake melts and becomes a raindrop, the Molecularium voyages inside it, where the characters greet
their fellow water molecules.
More adventures quickly ensue: The Molecularium voyages to another galaxy, returns to Earth with the steering help
of a lonely carbon atom (“Carbón”) seeking life forms, rides a polymer roller-coaster, and explores the objects in a
kid’s pocket, from a penny to a stick of gum. The adventure concludes with a “DNA ride” as the characters discover
the secret of life. All this in a mere 19 minutes.
“It’s very fast-paced, it’s got a very light touch, and it’s very light-hearted,” says Bush. “Even if the kids don’t come
out having memorized everything they learned in the show, it should definitely spark their interest about the topic. If
we can do that, then it will be a life-long gift that we can give to these kids.”
The show will be viewed in places like the Junior Museum in Troy, N.Y., and other digital-dome theaters both large
and small throughout the country. A sneak-preview clip was shown in Washington, D.C., in June, on Capitol Hill as
part of the Coalition for National Science Funding’s 10th annual science fair for politicians. The screenings will work
in conjunction with additional learning materials for young students: Activities, written materials and quizzes, to
reinforce the ideas presented in the show.
“The overall goal is to create an immersive environment for elementary school children to learn about molecular
science and materials,” says Schadler. A typical school group venturing into the planetarium might spend an hour,
all told, learning how the world works at the atomic scale. The topics are tied to the New York state curriculum for
primary schools — which does not specify that students must learn about atoms and molecules, but requires them
to learn about states of matter, starting in the first grade.
“Molecularium
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Project”
Copyright ©2004 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
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“The technology we are using to coordinate talents
both on and off campus is an exciting story on
its own, but we didn’t stop there,” says Garde.
“By merging technology with art, education, and
community, we are developing a teaching tool that
explores molecular science in a way that can be
understood and enjoyed by people of all ages.”
It is also no coincidence that the MoleculariumSM
project has been a Rensselaer effort, since it stems
from one of the university’s strengths. The project
is an outgrowth of the extensive educational and
outreach program of Rensselaer’s Nanoscale
Science and Engineering Center for Directed
Assembly of Nanostructures – one of the original
six such nanotechnology centers in the U.S.
funded by the NSF in 2001.
Before the “Riding Snowflakes” show (pre-test)
For his part, Bush says he is impressed by how
easily he has managed to coordinate his own
creative work with the scientists from Rensselaer.
“Basically anything we want, we can get it in five
minutes,” says Bush. “For all of the molecular and
scientific information, I can make a phone call and
I have it on my desk in five minutes ... It’s a great
resource for the project.”
And while the MoleculariumSM project has been
some time in the making for Schadler, it could help
turn young students into scientists of the future.
After all, as Schadler says, when she “envisioned
using a planetarium to teach about atoms and
molecules, it just clicked with me. I’m a very visual
person, and I learn visually.” Now schoolkids will
be able to learn visually as well – and have another
reason to make those field trips to planetariums.
“Molecularium
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After the “Riding Snowflakes” show (post-test)
Assessment: When asked to draw an atom, a molecule,
and a polymer, and asked about states of matter, children’s
understanding, based on quantitative assessment, tripled.
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Copyright ©2004 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
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